Conduit fasteners, referred to herein as conduit locator connecting means are vastly known and used in the art of remote control assemblies. In general, a first end of a core element within a conduit is attached to an actuator and the second end connected to a controller, such as the connection between a clutch and clutch pedal of an automobile. Intermediate of the actuator and connector, the core element and conduit, or control assembly, needs to be secured to a housing or support structure within the vehicle. Various methods have been incorporated to provide a connecting means between the assembly and the support structure.
Commonly used in the art are connecting means which are fixedly secured at predetermined positions along a conduit and corresponding in alignment with a support structure. However, problems arise with this type of connecting means due to tolerance errors between the alignment of the connecting means and a connecting site on the support structure. If the tolerance or alignment between the connecting means and the connecting site is inaccurate, the assembler will often force the connection into place by bending the conduit until the connecting means is received in the support structure. However, as will be appreciated, the bending of the conduit will also alter the length of the core element within the conduit, thus requiring adjustment of the actuator and/or controller.
Further known in the art are connecting means which are slideably coupled to the conduit. This type of connecting means allows the assembler to slide the connecting means along the length of the conduit after the actuator and controller ends of the core element have been connected. The connecting means may be connected to the support structure without having to alter the path of the conduit and thus, alleviating the need for readjustment of the core element length. However, a problem arises with this type of connecting means because the slideable connecting means often collect at one or both ends of the conduit, thus requiring difficult and tedious assembly of the control assembly to the support structure. The assembler is required to slide the connecting means along the entire length of the conduit and properly align each connecting means with its corresponding connecting site.
The U.S. Pat. No. 2,937,834 to Orenick et al, issued May 24, 1960, discloses a connecting means including a flexible strap having an anchoring element and a locking element at opposite ends thereof. In us, the strap may be flexed and looped around a conduit or plurality of conduits until the locking element is received and inserted within the anchoring element. The anchoring element is then pushed into a bore of a support structure and thus fixedly secures the conduit in position. It will be noted, that if the connecting means is looped about the conduit prior to connection to the support structure it will be free to slide along the entire length of the conduit, causing the assembler to individually align each of the connection means along the length of the conduit with its corresponding connecting site.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,263,948 to Conrad, issued Aug. 2, 1966, discloses a connecting means which is fixedly secured to a conduit. The connecting means comprises a means for engaging a portion of the conduit and fixedly securing the connecting means to the conduit to prevent relative axial movement between the conduit and the connecting means. The connecting means further includes a flange having a hole therein for allowing connection to a support structure. Thus, it will be appreciated that any tolerance inaccuracies between the connecting means and the connecting site of the support structure will require forced positioning of the connecting means by the assembler and thus alter the length of the core element and require readjustment thereof.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,512 to Johnson, issued Dec. 7, 1976, discloses a connecting means including a flat base having a fastener for connection to a support structure, and further including a pair of opposed arcuate arms interconnected at one end by an abutment means. The connecting means receives a conduit within the arcuate arms and one end of the conduit is abutted against the abutment means to prevent relative longitudinal movement of the conduit. Thus, the connecting means is in a relatively fixed position and any tolerance errors will result in the required need for core element adjustment.
It remains desirable to provide a connecting means which is not fixedly secured to the conduit while also being limited from slideable travel along the entire length of the conduit.